I steeped this tea for 8 minutes at 212 degrees with 1.5 teaspoons of leaf in about 6-8 ounces of water.

After steeping, the tea is an interesting peachy color-pinkish-orangeish-amber. It smells mostly of honeybush and a little of hops. The flavor combinations available here are quite intriguing!

First sip: SUPER sweet. It has a light, airy quality to the flavor. It’s not as “earthy” as I’d expect with so much honeybush in it (honeybush and rooibos usually ground a flavor pretty well in my estimation).

The flavor is also much more complex than the fragrance, rather than being dominated by the honeybush and hops flavors. It has the sweetness and woodiness of honeybush, but also a touch of lemony/citrus flavor (which brightens it considerably), just a hint of minty or piney freshness maybe, and some other difficult-to-describe notes.

After consulting the list of ingredients (it’s a relatively long one for a tea blend, although not super-long like a processed food or something) I’ve worked out that the sweetness is probably boosted by the marshmallow leaf (although honeybush is sweet on its own too) and the licorice; the bee pollen is probably what I see dancing in the tea liquid, giving it this peachy color; and the cedar is probably what I was mistaking for minty/piney freshness. All taken together, these notes make a fascinating flavor that’s worth exploring!

I’m really glad I got to try this tea–the dried leaf didn’t smell nearly as appetizing as the tea liquid turned out to be, and I’m glad I gave it the chance to bloom (figuratively speaking, that is–this wasn’t what they call a “blooming tea”).

Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Honeybush/Rooibos

Description

Woodland Trek 100% organic loose leaf tea is crafted with honeybush tea with a rich undertone of licorice and sage and snap of organic Oregon hops and a hint of sweetness from bee pollen. This outdoor-rich blend with organic cedar tips invites you to reminisce memories of evenings spent camping or hiking the cascades.

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel.
My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

Following steeping recommendations, I steeped 1 tsp of this with about a cup of water at approximately 195-200 degrees F for 3 minutes.

My first thought was that this tea smells like bee pollen, although I don’t actually have all that much experience with bee pollen, lol. But when I looked up the ingredients I discovered that bee pollen is actually one of them so I guess I was right!

It steeps up a nice golden/amber color, but interestingly cloudy. Instead of a clear amber like many teas are, it had lots of tiny specks like golden dust floating around in the depths. (That would be from the bee pollen, I guess. It’s a great special effect.) The fragrance is probably also courtesy of the bee pollen, so if you know what that smells like, just imagine that. At any rate, it doesn’t smell much like black tea when steeped (or before steeping either).

The first taste is mostly of pollen-ish honey flavor. It’s got a hint of pear but not a lot of conventional “fruity” taste. It doesn’t taste overly sweet either; I mean, it’s a bit sweet but not as sweet as I expected from something honey-flavored. It also doesn’t have an overpowering black-tea flavor.

After trying it plain I added sugar, about a teaspoon, and now it’s way too sweet for my taste. It definitely tastes of honey rather than sugar though, which is interesting given that I just put a bunch of sugar in. So then I added some milk to balance it back out again and now I’m finally catching a hint of the “black tea” flavor; still, though, it mostly just tastes of warm honey-milk and a slight fruity depth from the pear (which is quite nice but not very conspicuous; you don’t really notice it unless you’re trying). It’s very warm and comforting and great for rainy afternoons.

So I’d say overall my impression of this tea is that it’s quite subtle (other than the cool dissolving-pollen bit). There’s a lot to appreciate if you’re willing to take your time with it. I’m thinking of steeping it up more strongly next time to see if I like it better that way or not.

Hi! My name is Tabitha and I'm an uprooted PNW native living in the South with my husband and my cocker spaniel.
My favorite teas are usually dark and strong and go well with milk and sugar. I like to combine tea-drinking with all of my favorite activities, such as listening to music, reading YA fiction, knitting, and writing blog and website content for businesses. Because I'm a well-rounded person, I also have other interests, such as wearing mismatched socks and pretending to be ambidextrous.

There were a couple of teas in this sampler that prompted my purchase, but, I have to admit that this wasn’t one of them. I think it was the English Garden that really struck my fancy, and it was the name of the tea, really, that made me want to try it. I find it somewhat amusing and even a little disturbing that after all this time, and after all the teas I’ve tasted, that I am still swayed by something as cosmetic as the name of a tea.

As far as this tea goes, I don’t think I even read the description of this one before I brewed it! I don’t know, “Jacqueline’s Tea” just didn’t sound all that exciting to me. I just happened to grab a black tea from my pile of samples that I need to try. If I had taken the time to read the description, I probably would have been much more eager to try it. Lavender and pollen? AWESOME!

Normally, I associate pollen with the stuff that makes me feel icky in the spring and summer months. But, when it’s used for culinary purposes, I really love pollen. I was absolutely blown away by these Fennel Pollen Shortbread Cookies. Pollen offers a sweetness like honey, but with more complexity. Here, it has some lovely floral intonations, which enhance the flavor of the lavender quite nicely.

The black tea is mild and smooth. On Steepster, I compared this tea to an impressionist painting. If you stand up close to most impressionist art, it looks muddled, like a confused set of brush strokes. But if you take a few steps back, the subject matter comes in to focus, and you see the brilliant beauty of the artwork. This tea is like that. The first couple of sips, the flavors seem kind of blurry. I tasted the black tea and I tasted sweetness, but, my palate seemed a little confused by it all. Then, after a couple of sips, the flavors come in to focus. The black tea: mellow and unassuming. The lavender and the pollen: sweet and floral, with the pollen notes highlighting the lavender in a way that I don’t think I’ve experienced lavender before.

This is not a tea that I’d recommend for the “gotta-get-moving” first thing in the morning cup of tea. This is more like a tea you want to sip when you just want to sit back and contemplate.

If you’re a fan of lavender, this is a tea I recommend trying. It is a different way to experience lavender, and it’s definitely worth experiencing!

Anne (aka the Mad Tea Artist) has celebrated her 29th birthday for many years now. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her hubby and her youngest daughter. Her oldest daughter is married and has bestowed Anne with the proud title of "Gramma" and her grandson is about the cutest boy you ever did see.
Anne started her journey with tea as a casual drinker and became more serious about her tea drinking when she realized that she couldn't drink coffee. Shortly thereafter, she started becoming obsessed with the beverage and she started creating small-batch, artisan blends of tea that she sold online as LiberTEAS. After a few years, she realized she wasn't cut out to be the sole proprietor of a business so she closed LiberTEAS and started reviewing teas online. She met Jennifer through another blog that they both reviewed for and they decided to start their own review blog. This review blog!
Throughout her journey as a tea reviewer, she discovered 52Teas and became enamored with the idea of creating a new tea every week. When the founder of 52Teas decided he wanted to move on, he offered the business to Anne but knowing that she wasn't cut out to be a sole proprietor, she instead offered the company to her oldest daughter who employs her as the Mad Tea Artist for 52Teas!